The Little Engine That Could

Can Alex Presley continue the growth that started at Altoona?

In my daily search for Pirates news, I came across this profile of Alex Presley from the Bradenton Herald. The article touches on a great many things that I think of when I see Alex Presley, namely the fact that he seemingly came out of nowhere. In 2008 and 2009 Presley repeated high A ball in Lynchburg, posting almost identical numbers, aside from more triples in his second go round. At 23, having repeated an A ball level, it seemed like he was ticketed to be an organizational type of guy.

Then 2010 happened. Presley tore up the Eastern League hitting for a .350 clip with a .932 slugging percentage. The guy that was at Altoona seemed to be a totally different ballplayer. The Pirates promoted him to AAA after 67 games and he continued to do the same thing. He then got a call up to the majors in September. He looked like a one year wonder, until he played well again last seson in AAA, then acquitted himself nicely in the bigs.

If some remember last spring, Clint Hurdle seemingly challenged Presley a bit. I think at one point he said something to the effect that he did not see the player that was in AAA the year before. He did not impress the new skipper. I did not see him, so I do not know if that is the truth or some sort of challenge that Hurdle was laying out before Presley, but it worked.

I think the Alex Presley story over and over and try to think what was it that happened. I don't know if there is a better development story in the Huntington era than Presley. Perhaps one can look to Rudy Owens as well, as he struggled for sometime as well in the lower minors. I don't know if the feel good story will continue this season, but Presley is the sort of little engine that could with this team. How he goes may very well dictate how the offense goes, as he will bat leadoff. If he has a big season, we could have a lot of look forward to. If it is so, so then we will be seeing a lot of another little engine that could, an older model, in Nate McLouth. Here is hoping the Presley has more left to show.